Hello, everyone:
It's a busy week for charities. Paul donated food Wednesday to the Touched by an Angel benefit to support the Communtiy Hospice Foundation of Saratoga County, the organization that helped Sophie spend her last days at home, surrounded by family, rather than in a hospital. http://www.communityhospice.org/foundation.cfm
He'll be helping with an event Saturday to benefit the Universal Preservation Hall, which one day soon, after the renovations are complete, will become a fantastic arts venue in downtown Saratoga.
http://www.universalpreservationhall.org
On Tuesday, October 24, he's participating in a cookoff at The Saratoga for the Signature Chef's Auction for the Saratoga Region to benefit the March of Dimes, which works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. http://www.marchofdimes.com/newyork/6649_12337.asp
These three organizations are worthy of support, in our opinion. If you aren't able to attend any of the benefits, past or upcoming, they would still be most grateful for any donations or volunteer effort you might be able to offer.
The hat thing in last week's newsletter apparently hit a nerve. Our anecdotal explanation of why we ask people to remove their hats before sitting down at the dining table generated so many responses we actually had to create a separate forum for the debate on our website, because we would have had to devote another complete newsletter to the issue.
Instead, we'll direct those of you who are interested in hats to a special link so you can explore the thoughts of your fellow Chez Sophie diners.
There haven't been many new photos of the children since Cheryl's camera got stolen in July, so the excellent photographer, Emma Dodge Hanson, gathered up the family last week for one of her extraordinary photo shoots. To see some of her shots, visit http:// www.chezsophie.com/chezkids.htm
Our Sunday brunch looks especially delicious this week. We start serving breakfast items at 7 a.m. on Sundays and add a list of brunch specials starting at 10 a.m. This week, those specials are boeuf Bourguignon, $14; chicken napoleon with vodka sauce, $14; French toast with sliced apples and caramel cinnamon sauce, $10; frittata served with a side salad, $11; crawfish omelette served with Creole sauce, $13. Jazz pianist Cole Broderick plays the baby grand piano from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Pink Plate Special this coming week will be boeuf Bourguignon, a warming, lovely classic French dish that should be delicious as the weather gets a little nippy. It is a beef stew made with red Burgundy wine, flavored with onions, carrots, celery, bacon, shallots, mushrooms and a bouquet garni of fresh herbs. It is one of the quintessential dishes of Burgundy, where wine, beef and mustard define the indigenous cooking.
The Pink Plate is a weekly prix fixe special we offer on MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. For $30 per person, you get your choice of soup or salad, the featured entree, two selections from our cheese board or one of a couple of featured desserts, plus coffee, tea or espresso.
Below is a list of upcoming events at Chez Sophie, which will be elaborated upon as further details are available. For those of you who have been asking about New Year's Eve, see below for prices and times.
Live Piano Jazz
Jazz pianist Cole Broderick plays the baby grand Tuesday through Friday night, and during Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
(barring special events that preclude live music.)
Cost: No cover charge
Tango Wednesdays
The members of Tango Fusion, a local tango club, gather in our lounge after their Wednesday night class ends at 8:30 for cocktails, snacks and dancing. The public is welcome to come hang out at the bar, join in and pick up a few dance pointers from instructors Diane Lachtrupp and Johnny Martinez. For more information about local classes by Diane and Johnny, see the Saratoga Savoy website at
http://www.saratogasavoy.com/files/instructors.html
Cost: No cover charge
Tasting menus
Chef's Choice seven-course tasting menu available each night. The menus are designed based on the best and most creative dishes Chef Paul K. Parker is serving each evening. We will pair wines for you or you can order from our extensive wine list.
Cost: $75 per person, plus tax and tip. Everyone at the table must partake in the tasting menu
If you're feeling less impromptu, you can call ahead to arrange a special tasting menu with the number of courses and wine pairings designed to suit your capacity, dietary restrictions and budget.
Tasting menus arranged in advance will be printed on commemorative vellum scrolls personalized with the name of the host or the reason for the event.
Cost: $50 to $200, depending on the number of courses and the wines selected; available for two to 75 guests Call Cheryl to make arrangements 518.583.3538
Tuesday, October 31
Halloween Party for Kids
5 p.m. until it ends
We'll use our upstairs private dining room for an all-ages costume party with games, favors, magic tricks, food and prizes. Parents are welcome to join in the party, or have dinner in the downstairs dining room or at the bar while the kids play.
Cost: $5 per child
Reservations appreciated
Warm Lake Wine Dinner
November 7 and 8, 6:30 p.,m. each night
These two dinners are limited to 20 people each night around a single table. We will feature the wines of Warm Lake, a New York State winery on the Niagara Escarpment near Lake Ontario. The winemaking, done on a small scale, employs Old World techniques; the pinot noir fruit is triaged, punched down manually and vinified in French oak barrels. The grapes from four different sections of the vineyard are vinified separately, than blended by vintner Michael Von Heckler to make two dinner wines, Warm Lake Estate and Mountain Road.
Our wine dinners will feature a tasting of each of the four component wines and the Estate wine. Then we'll sit down to a warming soup as a palate cleanser and enjoy the Mountain Road with coq au vin. We'll finish with Warm Lake's dessert pinot noir with cheeses and desserts.
http://www.warmlakeestate.com
Cost: $80 per person, plus tax and gratuity
Thanksgiving Dinner
Thursday, November 23
Special prix fixe wine dinner
Limited to 20 people around a communal table, we will be serving up a
five-course heritage breed turkey tasting menu with four spectacular
wines. This is a particularly good option for people who love to dine
well and in a festive setting, but won't be with their families on
our national day of gratitude.
It starts at at 6:30 p.m.
Cost: $100 per person, plus tax and gratuity
Rooms available at The Saratoga at a steep discount for Chez Sophie
ticket holders. ($79 per night.)
Also, turkey dinner will be offered in our main dining room, in
addition to our regular menu from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. It will include
free-range, all-natural local roast turkey and trimmings and pie for
dessert for $35 per person, or your guests may order from our regular
menu. Turkey dinner for children under 12 is $15. A few large tables
still available for family groups.
Call for reservations 518.583.3538
Christmas Eve and Christmas Night Dinner
December 24 and 25
Details to be announced
We will be serving options suitable for families and for gourmands
wishing for a special holiday meal. Rooms available at The Saratoga
at a steep discount for Chez Sophie ticket holders. ($79 per night.)
New Year's Eve at Chez Sophie, 2006
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Our most elegant party of the year
Early seating prix fixe special
Tables available at 5, 5:30, 6 and 6:30 p.m.
Prix fixe five-course menu including options for three of the
courses, with a glass of Champagne included
Cost: $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity
New Year's Eve all night party
Tables available at 8, 8:30, 9 and 9:30 p.m.
Prix-fixe eight-course menu, including options for three of the
courses, midnight Champagne toast included
Jazz Pianist Cole Broderick to play starting at 8 p.m.
Cost: $125 per person, plus tax and gratuity
Special prix fixe wine menu available as well as our full wine list
and bar
Double rooms at The Saratoga available for $199 per night.
Reservations required with credit card confirmation
518.583.3538
Nico and Léo:
We were having a slow Sunday night last week and Cheryl was coming
down with a cold, so after we finished with Sunday brunch, we decided
to leave the restaurant in the capable hands of our staff and go
home. Once we got home, however, Cheryl took it into her head not to
waste a little free family time, sore throat and runny nose
notwithstanding.She had a coupon for something called a Haunted Hayride and thought
it might be the perfect thing. We called at 4 p.m., and the first
available reservation was at 9 p.m., which should have been a
warning. When we got there, the place was crammed with about 400
teenagers standing in incredibly long lines waiting to be loaded onto
a series of flatbed trailers attached to tractors. Nico was very
excited by all the commotion, but it took nearly an hour to get
through the line, and by then he was bored and cold. As soon as the
wagon took off into the dark night, he added scared to the list. Even
before the first fake ghoul jumped out of the woods, he was clinging
to his parents and wanting to go back. Léo, warm and secure in her
carseat, was unfazed by fear. When the ride ended a half hour later,
we were greatly relieved and hustled our boy home to a warm bath and
some cocoa. As we were taking him out of the car, he asked: "Did I
have a good time?"Nico and Léo's grandma from Arkansas is visiting this week, and she
taught Léo to clap. It's something the child was apparently ripe to
learn and her parents hadn't thought to show it to her as a
possibility. She's so excited about this new skill that she does it
all the time. We were listening to the WAMC fund drive Wednesday
morning and she heard the volunteers clapping and immediately joined
in with peals of giggles. If you hold her on your hip, with one of
her arms tucked behind you, she'll continue to try to clap with her
free hand, rather forcefully, on your face.
We hope to see you soon,
